Well said ....but .... Of course I can see rubbish shoes - just to clarify that in Australia ebay welcomes fakes being reported and this seller has several listed at that price, while I have genuine JMW on same site. so I just wanted to get some verification. Ebay would not know JMW and no stores in Australia, so SF is a good authority. I was also surprised as I hadnt ever seen fakes of this brand - Amazing that they don't seemto copy any feature of the reeal thing.....

For purposes of sizing reference I thought I world jump in and share my experience with my first jmw bought from the leather soul last pair sale page. I'm a pretty tts 12d with a narrow heal and slightly wide forefoot. I got this Demi chasse in jmw marked 11.5 which on the shoe and box appears as "11/" the slash is .5 in jmw land.
The fit is almost perfect just ever so slightly roomy. Justin at LS Honolulu is a pleasure to deal with and he knows his stuff. So in short -.5 from us tts worked for me in this shoe.
The leather, workmanship and finishing is outstanding among the best of any shoe I've seen, and I have lobb, SC, EG etc...

I was in the NYC store trying the exact pair of shoe and it is so beautiful. Is it still stiff after you break in? Does the shoe stretch much? really appreciate your opinion.

For purposes of sizing reference I thought I world jump in and share my experience with my first jmw bought from the leather soul last pair sale page. I'm a pretty tts 12d with a narrow heal and slightly wide forefoot. I got this Demi chasse in jmw marked 11.5 which on the shoe and box appears as "11/" the slash is .5 in jmw land.
The fit is almost perfect just ever so slightly roomy. Justin at LS Honolulu is a pleasure to deal with and he knows his stuff. So in short -.5 from us tts worked for me in this shoe.
The leather, workmanship and finishing is outstanding among the best of any shoe I've seen, and I have lobb, SC, EG etc...

I was in the NYC store trying the exact pair of shoe and it is so beautiful. Is it still stiff after you break in? Does the shoe stretch much? really appreciate your opinion.

Hi. I have the same model with different color and rubber sole. (I think this version is Japan only model). In my opinion, it does stretch. I got a very snag fit one but after careful break-in and 5 times wearing, it becomes totally OK.

Edmund sorry for the late response I haven't checked this thread in a while. I find them to be very stiff, but beginning to break in. Not bad stiff just very, very sturdy stiff. Really quite unlike any shoe I've ever owned, and I own many brands, the closest comparison to feel on the foot would be a double soled Crockett and Jones, but not even that close. Note, I've only wore them 3 or maybe 4 times, for a full day each time though. I couldn't really say I'm expecting them to stretch though. Maybe because they are a little roomy fit the way I sized them...
Bamboo glad to hear yours are working out, would love to see your version with rubber sole.

Edmund sorry for the late response I haven't checked this thread in a while. I find them to be very stiff, but beginning to break in. Not bad stiff just very, very sturdy stiff. Really quite unlike any shoe I've ever owned, and I own many brands, the closest comparison to feel on the foot would be a double soled Crockett and Jones, but not even that close. Note, I've only wore them 3 or maybe 4 times, for a full day each time though. I couldn't really say I'm expecting them to stretch though. Maybe because they are a little roomy fit the way I sized them...
Bamboo glad to hear yours are working out, would love to see your version with rubber sole.

Crackedcrab thanks for your reply. I bought the shoe yesterday and I agree it is unlike C&J and ALDEN. It kind of reminds me of Tricker's but a lot better finish quality. The steel toe is a nice touch. I bet it will take a long time to break in. feel extremely solid.